A very pretty game, gorgeous in fact, with plenty to do and see. But ultimately it just doesn't quite seem new enough. It's an example in safe game development and taking the easy path, but while it lasts, it's a fun path.

If nothing more than an interesting footnote in the evolution of gaming ideas, it would be a real shame to let this game fade into obscurity without at least coming to your own conclusion.

Narnia is a slay ride with Santa Claus level of novelty for big fans of the books and/or movies, but a simplistic, repetitive but sometimes fun fantasy-action game for anyone else. Who are you gonna be?

The single, or should that be double, player campaign is a bit on the short side, but it’s quite replayable due to being fun with a friend, and the multiplayer is good for a blast, just hope some new maps turn up for it pretty soon.

While it’s a great game, if you bought your 360 to see high definition graphics and all new gaming experiences, N+ won’t satisfy your modern hunger for High Definition. But if you liked the flash game, rate gameplay over graphics and don’t mind paying just over a fiver for some old fashioned entertainment, buy it… but be prepared to destroy the odd controller at certain difficult levels.

The nagging doubt about Multiwinia is that it is possibly too simple and short term – fun to drop into in the odd quiet half-hour, but with no visible form of progression, nothing that you will stick with in the long term.

Despite some glaring issues with this game I still enjoyed it immensely. It's fun, addictive and relaxing.

A budget game being sold at an inflated price, likely to fans of the genre only. But I’m still really looking forward to Orcs & Elves II on the DS.

If your nerves are shot to pieces with the glut of zombie gore 'em ups out there Osmos will do a sterling job of rubbing those aching temples and making the nightmares go away.

Not to say that it isn’t fun, but Pain is clearly a victim of its own hype.

There have been many games of this type, but Samurai Warriors is undoubtedly the best.

Square have tried to give us a chance to tell our own stories through this game, but their rules and prerequisites are often too restricting and the rewards not always enough.

I found World Racing 2 a huge letdown having been looking forward to this sequel for so long. I expected it to be a step forward, not seem like a step back.

It's a family friendly fun romp that's inoffensive and visually interesting with a nice quirky style. Just don't expect a great co-op time unless you can work together within a tight camera angle. This is one Wii game that's better to play on your own.

And when atmosphere is the only new thing that you bring to the table, it had better be damn near perfect to make a good impression. Hitman: Contracts is just short of that, but is more than enough if you haven’t played Hitman 2.

The series has had a good run, but it just hasn’t really evolved much from it’s initial outing and unless they can do a complete reinvention on the next installment then Actvision should just call it a day.

What we've been given is a game that looks like rallying, but the cars have so much grip, so much power in the brakes, that in the rally sections there's no feeling of driving off road at all.

A decent, side-scrolling action romp, with admirable multiplayer offering and enjoyable gameplay. This, comrade, is well worth an investment.

If you can get past the problems or are fortunate enough not to care you are going to find a great biking sim with amazing depth and longevity. It’s one of the best loved games on Live, and this release shouldn’t do too much to change that.

While the formula is solid, I think it was a missed opportunity for Pandemic to just churn out practically the same game. However, if you're looking for a no-brainer with big guns and lots of explosions, it rarely gets as fun as this.

A shamefully small amount has changed with each game apart from graphical upgrades, new characters and some abilities, but it's still an entertaining formula, and DMC4 is proof of that.

Geo Wars offers you the same, basic and fun gameplay but with the added twist of a level structure. However, it really is all about shooting and avoiding getting shot. After a few hours play I found I was just stuck in the same groove and the game doesn’t offer much in the way of variety.

If you do decide to pick it up you’re unlikely to be disappointed, but it’s also unlikely to set your gaming world on fire.

Technical shortcomings do mar the experience though as does the lack of multiplayer.

Sure it won't challenge the big boys in the gaming industry, but it's up to indie developers to push unique ideas further. Hermitworks Entertainment should be proud of their game because it shows a lot of potential.

As it is Tekken 6 comes highly recommended to those who can play it regularly with friends, or to those that are prepared to wait to see if the soon-to-be-released patch really does sort out all of the online issues. Just stay away from the Scenario Campaign mode. It’s six hours of your life you’ll never see again if you don’t.

If you liked the world of the original, buy it, you’ll get a kick out of everything, but if you’ve not even played the first one, then buy The Longest Journey and see what Dreamfall should have been; like its predecessor, focussed on the puzzles.

If you’re a Tomb Raider completist or reckon you’ve great dexterity then you will find a very pleasing game here. I enjoyed my time with the PSP version of Tomb Raider Legend yet I knew it could have been a hell of a lot better.

A rewarding endeavour for those who share a passion for this type of sport, though in all honesty will feel considerably flat to those who prefer to spend their time doing more than taking a hard left.

It won’t set your gaming world on fire, and FIFA might even be the better option (it’s a close call, much closer than on the PS3/360) but if you do have the PS2 version and fancy carrying on with your Master League on the move (and are prepared to put up with the control foibles), or just have to have the latest version, PES 2008 is unlikely to disappoint.

The game is just too ambitious for the aging PlayStation 2. The frame rate, control and save game issues make the game a hard unforgiving slog rather than fun at times. But despite that there's a lot to be admired about the game.

It's about being scared out of your wits one minute and then bellowing with laughter at something gruesomely humorous the next.

It’s also an excellent introduction to the RPG genre for Sonic fans or those that usually find them too overwhelming and don’t want to spend hours levelling up their characters.

This is a slice of simple fun, and a better one you’ll be hard-pressed to find, but it’s simplicity is just a little too basic to hold your attention for long.

The camera, for instance, is more often than not pointing in entirely the wrong direction. It points in the direction that you were last moving but rotates very slowly.

The level of destruction you’re capable of is phenomenal. If you’ve ever played "Burnout" and wished you could do as much damage to the scenery as you can do to cars, then this is the game for you.

It's a real shame the full potential of the franchise hasn't been realised here.

A game fraught with problems but recommendable nonetheless. When a game makes you smile this much it ‘s easy to forgive it its misgivings. And when the smile is as big as the one on my face, even more so. Now...high five!

It tries so hard to be all things to all people but for me it tries to walk before it can run. Oh well, no invite for me next year then!

There are lots of great elements to the game, but nothing that stands out as being worthy of a purchase alone.

If you’ve never seen the draw of Harry Potter, then perhaps this game isn’t for you, although with nothing too complex to get your head around and the ability to out-magic Malfoy and his troop, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban spells more fun than a lot of movie-to-game conversions.

If you’re the patient and careful type it’ll suit you. Otherwise, you’ll have to put in a lot of effort.

The question remains as to whether any Vietnam based game can be actually highly entertaining and satisfying as a game, while keeping true to the spirit of conflict. Men Of Valor provides us with a little food for thought in this regard, at least.

SvR as a series is the MVP of videogames. It’s upper-midcard rather than Main Event status, but is destined for greatness if only it can be nurtured and refined in a few areas.

If you’re after a simple and enjoyable hack and slash game, with lots of violence and blood, Blood Rayne 2 will be ideal, and yes, it’s worth playing, if only via a rental.

At its worst, Nexus is painfully ponderous and distantly detached. At its best it's visually stupendous sci-fi spectacular with depth as well as style. The 2001 of Real Time Strategy if you will.

I can now safely say that I've started to see the attraction of NASCAR.

A solid, well put together RPG that has quality where it counts. It will not appeal to everyone, but existing fans of Star Ocean as well as RPG fans in general will not be disappointed.

Although it doesn’t offer anything new, Sacred wields a metaphorical mace of monster mash with pride and panache. This is slick action adventuring with a lack of ambition but no shortage of charm.

It will extend the length of an already long game, and the 100 points are easy to get. I do however think it is slightly over priced.

A good game without the substance to make it a great one.

The action is very well done, sometimes enthralling, but never progressing beyond the 'shoot him, find key, open door, shoot him...' formula makes the game just a tad too empty to proficiently prosper.

Amped 3 brought lots of smiles to my face, but these were down to the wacky presentation rather than anything else.

Beyond Divinity is like a rigged slot machine; you always win the same amount you put in, but the jackpot never comes. You’ll continue to play because you have nothing to lose, but it’s not as exciting.

There's nothing new to see here and given the effort that Rockstar seems to have put into this title it seems that it knows it.

Fairly shallow as racing games go but provides upwards of 40 hours of single player action and a never ending supply of online entertainment.

Playing other people really makes for some exciting tactical play.

A solid third person shooter, the control system could be a bit better, and the multiplayer is decidedly lacking, but it makes up for it in other areas. It is quite possibly one of the best looking games out there, production values all round are high, and the gameplay itself is a lot of fun, despite the flaws, but the short length of the game means the fun is quite short lived.

At £5.99 on Steam I find it hard not to recommend this off the wall piece of budget brilliance.

The new monsters are not as interesting as the original ones, and even though they’re still frightening, they just don’t fill the void left by DOOM 3.

There is a lot of retro fun here and if you only carry one UMD with you this is as good as any to keep you entertained.

If you can get past the technical glitches, or somehow manage to avoid them, then Sims 2 Nightlife is a fine addition to the growing Sims 2 franchise.

The characters don't move with the speed and finesse of those in Smash Bros and the fighting has less finesse. The recognisable characters help to make this title stand out and it's not necessarily a bad thing.

Planning your offensive and defensive attacks plays a massive role and is essentially where the fun lies.

I’ll briefly abandon my objective viewpoint and daringly say that I love Disgaea. But I can find very little to strongly recommend about it.

I really enjoyed playing Dirt 2. It breaks my heart really to give it a low overall score, but you just can't expect people to pay high prices for very little content. In these hard economic times value for money is as important as gameplay.

It’s nice that no feeble attempt was made to force the stylus into the pinball format, but it would have been better to see some more multiplayer options and maybe just a couple more tables. Really, that’s the only thing wrong with this otherwise fantastic title.

The game play is where it’s at with TU and while it can be slow paced when on foot, the battles are an absolute blast.

The core element of the game is solid and all that needs to be done is some polishing. Hopefully, the next installment in the series will do just that and then we really do have an undisputed champion.

If the setting and atmosphere were any different, say a sci-fi or fantasy setting, I doubt that the experience provided by Red Dead Revolver would seem anything more than mediocre, if that.

There's at least one thing they haven't improved which they should have done though, and that's your team mates AI, I occasionally found my own team mates crashing in to me, an autosave wouldn't have hurt either, but they're just small niggles really.

Ultimately, the game provides plenty of enjoyment, and sits very happily on the 360, slotting itself in as a console game well. Plus, who doesn’t enjoy a bit of mindless destruction, and a justification to empathise with the ‘other side’?

I don’t want to give the impression this is just another lazy Star Wars game, because it’s clear a lot of love has gone into the game. But there’s a lack of ambition at the heart of Empire at War that is the ultimate reason for its failure to be a really great strategy game.

The single-player is decent, but relies on its co-op functionality to pull you out of its twitchy gameplay troubles. If you can get around that, Combined Assault is worth sticking your head out in the firing line for.

It’s really a question of quality over quantity, and though some may balk at the £9.99 price tag for such a short non replayable experience, the actual gameplay reminds us all how platforming should be fun.

A feature that is touted impressively then lets down over the course of the game is the animation and general cinematics.

After playing "Portable Ops" the other week, it's great playing a game that doesn't really demand too much of you, and that's nothing but a plus point. There's no variation in game play, and I'm not too sure about using a mass of people to increase difficulty, but as a whole, the game is just too fun and addictive to allow the faults any right of passage.

The only additional gripe is the awful frame-rate (there is no reason whatsoever for the constant dips in performance). Sam & Max is, otherwise, enjoyable to play, offers sensible solutions to the puzzles and, at slightly less than 300pts per episode, is pitched at just the right price for the content on offer, unlike TellTale’s other series, Wallace and Gromit.

It’s not groundbreaking in any way, but what it does offer is a solid MMORPG that can be just as engaging as the likes of WOW and yet is completely free. This game has quashed the age old myth that free games lack quality.

If all you want is a well-executed platform action game, with no innovations, you can have a really good time with Maximo vs. The Army of Zin, but otherwise steer clear. You’ve seen it all before.

If you do decide to pick it up you’re unlikely to be disappointed, but it’s also unlikely to set your gaming world on fire.

It's a perfect travel companion on the commute to work, and perfect for pick up and play puzzle goodness.

I really disliked the single player aspect, but the multiplayer saved the game in my eyes.

It’s Football Manager, but online on a vast scale. You can’t beat playing against human managed teams.

The quick play arcade nature of its core selection of titles is perfectly suited to a handheld. As it currently stands it’s the best of this type of compilation on the market for the PSP and should provide many hours of classic gaming enjoyment.

The challenges and free create mode are more likely to be where experienced city builders will spend their time and I just don't think there's enough of that to keep them coming back.

Tales of Vesperia is a well polished, entertaining and charming adventure. It isn’t anything you haven’t seen before, however.

Fast and fun once the controls are mastered.

A fantastic game. It's hampered by a few problems, but nothing major. It provides ground breaking gameplay that I am sure will be imitated by others.

A fun, if simplistic battle game that is certainly well above average and worth giving it a spin if you find it at the right price.

The real saving grace though for The 40th day is the multiplayer options.

While part of the beauty and pure artistry is that it doesn’t hold your hand the whole way, I can’t help but feel that it does lack direction, but it shows off the PS2’s Sixaxis in a more than appealing way, and gives the PS3 an edge of experimentation and originality that could sway the odd savvy gamer.

Personally I'm not a big fan of strategy games, but Greed Corp has made me look at the genre in a different way, if all strategy games had this kind of pacing and fun atmosphere then I think it would be a much more popular type of game right now.

It capably provides its gun and grenade ridden action entertainment, but disappoints only because of the massive marketing campaign that led us all to believe we were in for something extra special, rather than the adequate but ultimately not stand-out shooter we have here.

At the end of the day you get a pretty good game here, as mentioned it's an adaptation on Nintendo's classic Zelda series with a ninja theme, albeit a little dumbed down, but it's fun while it lasts.

As retro remakes go this certainly isn't a bad one, but there's a couple of flaws in the gameplay that means it falls short a little of what it could be.

A damn good remake of a damn good game.

As good as Trine is it left me slightly wanting due in part to its length-at about 6 hours maximum it’s very short for its price tag. If it’s a higher price, it should be full length.